UN weather report: Climate woes bad and getting worse faster





 Buffalo feed on grass brought by a ranger as hundreds of animals have died in Kenyan wildlife preserves during East Africa's worst drought in decades, in Samburu County, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya Oct. 14, 2022. Earth’s warming weather and rising seas are getting worse and doing so faster than before, the World Meteorological Organization warned Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in a somber note as world leaders started gathering for international climate negotiations in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)

SETH BORENSTEIN
Sun, November 6, 2022 


SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Earth’s warming weather and rising seas are getting worse and doing so faster than before, the World Meteorological Organization warned Sunday in a somber note as world leaders started gathering for international climate negotiations.

“The latest State of the Global Climate report is a chronicle of climate chaos,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “We must answer the planet’s distress signal with action -- ambitious, credible climate action.”

In its annual state of the climate report, the United Nations’ weather agency said that sea level rise in the past decade was double what it was in the 1990s and since January 2020 has jumped at a higher rate than that. Since the decade began, seas are rising at 5 millimeters a year (.2 inches) compared to 2.1 millimeters (.08 inches) in the 1990s.

The last eight years have been the warmest on record, the WMO said in a report that didn’t break new ground but was a collection of recent weather trends, data and impacts in one central place.


“The melting (of ice) game we have lost and also the sea level rate,” WMO chief Petteri Taalas told The Associated Press. “There are no positive indicators so far.”

The only reason that the globe hasn’t broken annual temperature records in the past few years is a rare three-year La Niña weather phenomenon, he said.

The data on sea level and average temperatures are nothing compared to how climate change has hit people in extreme weather. The report highlights the summer’s incredible flood in Pakistan that killed more than 1,700 people and displaced 7.9 million, a crippling four-year drought in East Africa that has more than 18 million hungry, the Yangtze River drying to its lowest level in August, and record heat-waves broiling people in Europe and China.

“This latest report from the World Meteorological Organization reads like a lab report for a critically ill patient, but in this case the patient is Earth,” said climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, who wasn’t part of the report.

Levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide all reached record high levels, with potent methane increasing at a record pace, the report said.

That means more than just warming temperatures on land. Ice, both Greenland’s ice sheet and the world’s glaciers, are shrinking precipitously, the report said. For the 26th year in a row, Greenland lost ice when all types of ice are factored in. The volume of glacier snow in Switzerland dropped by more than one-third from 2001 to 2022, the report said.

But 90% of the heat trapped on Earth goes into the ocean and the upper 2000 meters (6561 feet) of the ocean is getting warmer faster. The rate of warming the last 15 years is 67% faster than since 1971, the report said.

That ocean heat “will continue to warm in the future – a change which is irreversible on centennial to millennial time scales,” the report said.

Outside experts weren’t surprised by the report and said no one should be.

“What climate scientists have warned about for decades is upon us. And will continue to worsen without action,’’ said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd. “Two things must go away: Climate delayism and speaking about climate change impacts in the future tense. It’s here.”

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National Park Service Begs Visitors: Please Stop Licking These Psychedelic Toads

Ed Mazza

Mon, November 7, 2022 

The National Park Service dropped an unusual warning recently, urging visitors to stop licking toads.

“As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking,” the agency wrote.

The warning posted on Facebook last week specifically applies to the Sonoran desert toad, aka the Colorado river toad.

“These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin,” the agency wrote. “It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth.”

Yet people seek it out anyway for something else it secretes: a hallucinogenic substance called 5-MeO-DMT.

Yet another capture of a toxic toad crossing the road during a hot summer day in the Sonoran Desert of Peoria, Arizona, as many of them invaded the streets after a major flooding Monsoon of August 2021. (Photo: Vlad Georgescu via Getty Images)

Yet another capture of a toxic toad crossing the road during a hot summer day in the Sonoran Desert of Peoria, Arizona, as many of them invaded the streets after a major flooding Monsoon of August 2021. (Photo: Vlad Georgescu via Getty Images)

While the secretions can lead to a trip, the National Capital Poison Center notes it can also “cause severe irritation, pain, and tissue damage.” A lick or two can cause “numbness of the mouth and throat as well as severe and life-threatening effects on the heart.”

The agency warns: “These effects include irregular rhythm of the heart, heart block, reduced blood pressure, and cardiac arrest. These severe effects can also occur after absorption through the skin.”

NPR notes that many toad-users aren’t actually licking the creatures, but smoking the secretions. The toad is now considered threatened in New Mexico due in part to “overcollecting” by people seeking those mind-altering secretions.

The New York Times earlier this year reported that demand for the secretions has put the toad at risk for “population collapse.”

Boxing great Mike Tyson is among the toad’s aficionados.

“The toad’s whole purpose is to reach your highest potential,” he told the New York Post last year, saying he first tried it as a dare when he was a “wreck” but has since improved.

“The toad has taught me that I’m not going to be here forever,” he said. “There’s an expiration date.”

The National Park Service said the toad is about 7 inches long ― making it one of the nation’s largest ― and lets out a “weak, low-pitched toot, lasting less than a second.”

The agency also offered an image of the toad “staring into your soul” captured by a motion sensor camera at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona.

Don’t lick this:

Avoid licking this Sonoran desert toad. (Photo: National Park Service)

Avoid licking this Sonoran desert toad. (Photo: National Park Service)

The National Park Service warns visitors not to lick Sonoran Desert toads, whose psychoactive poison has been smoked by celebrities like Joe Rogan and Chelsea Handler

Kelsey Vlamis
Sun, November 6, 2022 at 6:19 PM·3 min read

Sonoran desert toad (left); Joe Rogan (right)National Park Service; Christian Petersen/Getty Images

• The National Park Service told visitors not to lick toads or anything else they find in the parks.

• The warning was a nod to the psychoactive properties in toad secretions that some people smoke.

• However, licking the toads is dangerous to humans and animals.

The National Park Service has warned visitors not to lick a particular toad that's known for its psychoactive properties, which have been intentionally consumed — albeit not by "toad licking" — by celebrities like Joe Rogan.

The Sonoran Desert toad, also known as the Colorado River toad, can grow to nearly 7 inches and is one of the largest toads in North America. It's typically found in northern Mexico and the southwestern US, but is perhaps most well known for the toxins it exudes.

"These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin. It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth," the park service wrote in a post shared on Facebook Monday, alongside a spooky photo of a toad appearing to look right into a trail camera at night. "As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking."

The concept of "toad licking" has been depicted in popular media for decades, but is largely considered an urban legend. The practice is dangerous and can make humans and animals sick, as the Sonoran Desert toads release toxins through glands in their skin as a powerful defense mechanism.

According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the toxins are strong enough to kill full-grown dogs.

 

However, the psychoactive secretions released by the toads are consumed by humans in other ways. The substance is typically dried into crystals and then smoked using a pipe. The result is a psychedelic experience that can last 15 to 30 minutes, according to The New York Times.

The relevant psychoactive substance, 5-MeO-DMT, is illegal in the US and designated a Schedule 1 substance, but that hasn't stopped it from accruing fans. The substance, which is closely related to DMT, is typically called Five or Bufo, but has also been referred to as the "God molecule."

Like other psychedelic substances that are being increasingly embraced for therapeutic purposes, 5-MeO-DMT has been used by some as medicine or in church rituals. One Navy SEAL and combat veteran told the Times smoking the toad's secretions was the only thing that helped his depression and anxiety.

Some celebrities have also been open about their experiences with the toad. Comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan, an outspoken advocate for psychedelics, said 5-MeO-DMT was "probably the most terrifying experience" he's ever had on  psychedelics, adding that he felt he had "ceased to exist."

Comedian Chelsea Handler also told The Hollywood Reporter her experience with the drug was "really scary."

"It's this frog venom thing where they light it, you inhale it and you basically hallucinate. You see visions and colors. I was at some woman's house, lying in her living room on blankets, and I was immediately drenched in sweat feeling as sick as I've ever felt," she said.

Some are concerned that the growing embrace of psychedelics and 5-MeO-DMT could threaten the existence of the Sonoran Desert toad due to illegal poaching and overharvesting, the Times reported. The toad is already believed to have been wiped out of California, where it was last seen in the wild in the 1970s.

China's pledge to help Africa overcome climate change lays ground for green investment boom

Sun, November 6, 2022 at 2:30 AM·8 min read

In a small town 9km (5.6 miles) west of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, a Chinese-funded solar plant is powering factories, schools and households.

Spanning 160,000 square metres (1.7 million sq ft) with more than 30,000 solar panels, the 15 megawatt operation in Bimbo meets about 30 per cent of the capital's power needs.

Built by China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction, the solar plant, which was finished in June, is one of a slew of new green energy projects being developed in Africa with Chinese expertise.

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Beijing recently pledged to help 19 African nations combat the effects of climate change, such as floods and drought triggered by a warming planet. Shifting away from fossil fuel energy will be a key plank of China's help.

The rush of green investment will do a power of good for the largely impoverished continent, which is on the front lines of climate change. China, meanwhile, will have its image polished overseas.

But while most of the development help is likely to be on renewable energy projects and climate mitigation, some African governments may prefer China to help exploit mineral or fossil fuel deposits, analysts say - potentially undermining green pledges.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said last month China will pursue "cooperation" with the 19 African nations on climate change and green energy development.

"China not only helps African countries respond to climate change with every sincerity, but has also lived up to its commitments on global climate response," Mao said.

China has already committed billions of US dollars in financial aid to Africa over the past two decades and says it has built more than 100 clean energy and sustainable development projects on the continent.

Analysts say this new pledge is likely to come with loans on favourable terms to build renewable-energy plants or buy Chinese solar-power equipment.

"I expect China to invest in energy infrastructure and provide financing as a means of aid," said Liang Yan, professor of economics at Willamette University in the United States. China is also likely to extend technological expertise too, she said.

This direction would fit with the Belt and Road Initiative, Liang said, referring to a US$1 trillion, nine-year-old scheme that has built infrastructure across the world to enhance trade links with China.

The diverse range of climates across Africa's vast continent, which range from arid deserts to rainforests and glaciers, has warmed more than the global average since the pre-industrial period between 1850 and 1900, according to the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization.

Sea levels along Africa's coastlines are also rising faster than most other countries, it said, which is exacerbating the risk of floods and erosion.

Over the past 18 months, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have been struggling through a drought due in part to temperatures linked to climate change. The extreme weather has killed crops and cattle while threatening to spread disease and cause widespread hunger, according to global charity Oxfam International.

China is well positioned to help mitigate the impacts of climate change because it has been phasing out coal at home in favour of renewable energy, said Barry Sautman, professor emeritus in the social science division at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The country's carbon "intensity" - which measures the weight emitted per unit of energy consumed - dropped 48.4 per cent from 2005-20, exceeding an official target, according to a 2021 white paper from the State Council Information Office.

As a development partner overseas, however, China's domination of the global solar supply chain and unparalleled spending on renewable energy give it an edge.

China Exim Bank has already funded construction of a 15-megawatt solar power plant in Garissa, a semi-arid region of northeastern Kenya. China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Co-operation built the US$135.7 million plant, which began running in 2019.

It provides power for more than 380,000 people and remains one of the largest photovoltaic electricity stations in East Africa.

Chinese leaders are likely to approach climate through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a senior-level dialogue platform that has helped launch numerous projects over the past 22 years, Jili said. The forum aims to advance the use of solar, hydropower and renewable energy in Africa.

During last year's FOCAC in Senegal, China promised to increase investment in renewables, as well as energy-saving technologies and low-carbon industries. China has also vowed to stop building coal-fired power projects abroad.

To avoid defaults on any loans linked to green energy projects, China would probably cut interest rates or allow delayed repayments, Jili said.

"This willingness to renegotiate terms relates to its insistence on maintaining a benevolent diplomatic image, which is precisely produced to contrast itself against other Western development partners," he said.

But most of these projects come with a big price tag and some analysts say nations risk being saddled with unsustainable debt. Western officials have warned that some of China's lending for infrastructure has put smaller countries in difficult positions where they cannot afford to repay their loans - so-called debt traps, which Beijing rejects vehemently.

Zambia became Africa's first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter in 2020. It stopped work on several Chinese-funded infrastructure projects and cancelled undisbursed loans. In early September, China and other lenders gave debt relief assurances to the southern African nation, which helped unlock a US$1.3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Uganda owed China US$200 million for its only international airport as of 2021, and Kenya hinted last week it will ask China to change the terms of its US$4.7 billion loan for a railway.

"China is aware of debt concerns in the region, while at the same time massive market opportunities await through rising energy needs paired with untapped solar and wind resources in Africa," said Yingzhi Sarah Tang, a research fellow at the Green Finance & Development Centre at Fudan University.

"China aims to establish itself as a green leader and promote climate governance not only through financing and technology, but also through diplomatic relations."

Chinese leaders are looking for political ties with "a significant number of countries that can function as allies in multilateral institutions like the UN but also have access to the key minerals that are going to form the trajectory of tech", Jili said.

Some African governments might call on China to help them develop mineral reserves or even deposits of fossil fuels, rather than renewable energy, analysts said.

Two Chinese banks were financing four coal-fired power plants under construction in South Africa and Zimbabwe, despite China's climate pledge to shun coal projects.

Kenya as a producer of coal would want to make use of its deposits, Sautman said.

Elsewhere, civil society groups in Uganda have criticised a Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline for possible environmental damage and the displacement of households.

"For relatively poor countries, it's always tempting to use the resources they have on hand rather than alternative sources of energy," Sautman said.

Christoph Nedopil Wang, director of the Shanghai-based Green Finance & Development Centre, said the potential impact of China's development pledge will depend on the willingness of local leaders to focus on sustainable outcomes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told a belt and road forum in November last year that high-quality, "small and beautiful" projects should be a priority in overseas cooperation. He said those projects are sustainable and improve people's livelihoods.

"Small and beautiful" is part of China's shift from mega infrastructure projects to smaller but profitable ventures under its Belt and Road Initiative. Investors will also take on less risk.

Despite the potential of clean energy projects, particularly through distributed solar and other localised solutions, China so far is still engaging in "large-scale fossil energy developments across the region", Wang said.

In the first half of 2022, gas projects were the main driver of China's energy financing and investment across Africa, Wang said.

Wei Shen, a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies in Britain, said data indicated Chinese state-owned enterprises and development finance institutions were pulling back from financing overseas coal-fired power plants after Beijing pledged to do so in October last year.

"China certainly hopes to promote its world leading renewable energy capacities worldwide, as it did once on conventional energy projects," Shen said.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), 

Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

SECURITY STATE CAPITALI$M

Global Impact: 'Hong Kong is back': global financiers herald city's return

Mon, November 7, 2022 at 2:30 AM·9 min read

The much-heralded gathering of global bankers and financiers ended on Thursday on an optimistic note about Hong Kong's prospects, as overseas attendees hailed their unhindered participation as proof that the city can put its coronavirus restrictions behind it and get back to business.

The message that was repeated and reinforced throughout the three days of the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit was that it is "business as usual" in Hong Kong, even if the city had been slower than other countries in opening its borders to corporate and leisure travel.

The fact that half of the 250 financiers from 120 global firms did manage to fly in from abroad - 40 of them being C-suite executives - underscored the message by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu that "Hong Kong is back".

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The event, led by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), kicked off informally on Tuesday with a closed-door meeting between some invited bankers and the city's financial officials at the office of the de facto central bank.

Bankers and financiers seen arriving for the meeting included HSBC CEO Noel Quinn, Standard Chartered group CEO Bill Winters, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Morgan Stanley chairman James Gorman, UBS Group chairman Colm Kelleher, Bank of China president Liu Jin, BlackRock president Rob Kapito, Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann, JPMorgan Asia-Pacific CEO Filippo Gori, Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman, and Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman William E. Conway Jr.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun led the Hong Kong officials at the meeting, joined by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Securities and Futures Commission chief executive Ashley Alder, and Nicolas Aguzin, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).

A gala dinner at the M+ contemporary art museum closed out the first day, where attendees were feted by a musical ensemble and an eight-course Cantonese meal from the Grand Hyatt hotel.

The first day of the public programme featured a number of panel discussions with C-suite speakers from some of the world's largest banks, funds and investors. They discussed dealing with uncertainty, sustainable finance, the future of finance, as well as environmental, social and corporate governance.

Three of China's financial regulators spoke in pre-recorded dialogues - held in English - with HKMA CEO Eddie Yue Wai-man, where they reiterated the central government's commitment to develop and enhance Hong Kong's role as a financial centre.

Every speaker at the conference, from Hong Kong's chief executive to the foreign bankers speaking on panels, spoke without a mask on.

Two panel discussions took place on the final day at the HKEX, at the former trading floor that has since been converted into the Connect Hall to mark Hong Kong's switch to paperless transactions. They discussed the creation of value amid uncertainty and management through volatile markets.

Global inflation, geopolitical tensions, climate change, lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on economies, talent and markets were the major concerns looming on the horizon for Hong Kong, other emerging economies and mainland China, attendees said.

It was not merely lip service. Just before the summit's informal kick-off, Citigroup opened its first global wealth management centre in Tsim Sha Tsui to serve dollar-denominated millionaires, joining rivals HSBC and Standard Chartered in making Hong Kong the beachhead for tapping the estimated 80,000 wealthy individuals in southern China's Greater Bay Area.

Singapore was on the tip of many attendees' tongues, as several global banks grappled with an exodus of staff who were fed up with Hong Kong's previous Covid-19 restrictions. The solution in the post-Covid era was co-location, where senior positions in both Hong Kong and Singapore could serve different purposes, said the Swiss bank Julius Baer.

"Hong Kong has always been the centre of gravity for North Asia, with its proximity to China and the Greater Bay Area," said Philipp Rickenbacher, CEO of the Zurich-based private bank, adding that the two cities are both hubs for expanding in Asia.

The summit was not without drama. Two US lawmakers urged US financiers to reconsider their attendance just days before the summit began, claiming that their participation would "contribute to the Chinese government's human rights abuses". Their call was mostly ignored and roundly condemned by Hong Kong officials.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, the chief proponent of the summit, found himself stuck in Riyadh after catching Covid-19 during a work visit to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. He did make it back to Hong Kong in time to deliver a keynote address in person because his viral load was low and he was deemed "non-infectious" by local health officials, but he was ordered to refrain from attending banquets.

Several bankers also backed out. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Blackstone president Jon Gray caught Covid-19 and had to stay away, while Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Capital Group CEO Timothy Armour and Amundi's Valerie Baudson pulled out for scheduling conflicts and other reasons.

With the summit over, some bankers are staying in Hong Kong to meet staff and clients. HSBC's Quinn is staying for the Hong Kong Sevens, as the bank sponsors the rugby tournament.

The HKMA may organise the summit again in 2023 to mark its 30th anniversary, said Yue. Most participants this year said they would not think twice about returning.


Photo: K. Y. Cheng alt=Photo: K. Y. Cheng>

Beijing 'fully focused' on economic growth, with Hong Kong's capital markets a crucial enabler: top regulators

Officials from China's central bank and securities watchdog hit back at the notion that China has reduced its focus on economic growth during a global summit on Wednesday

Beijing will continue to strengthen Hong Kong as an international financial centre to drive the mainland's development, regulators added

Beijing remains "fully focused" on economic growth and is committed to making Hong Kong an even stronger international financial centre to help achieve that goal, China's top financial regulators said during a global finance summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

"Hong Kong has great potential in deepening connections with the mainland financial market, financing and investing under the Belt and Road Initiative, fintech and green finance," Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, told attendees of the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit.


Photo: K. Y. Cheng alt=Photo: K. Y. Cheng>

As Federal Reserve's rampant rate increases turn markets cloudy, investors should focus on fundamentals, money managers say

The outlook for equity investors is cloudy as rising interest rates could tip many economies into recession and hit corporate earnings, State Street CEO says

With volatility set to play a bigger role in markets, investors should revisit their portfolio to get the right balance between growth and value, Wellington CEO says

The era of high return on investment is over, and the focus should be on value amid looming market uncertainty, according to top money managers, as the Federal Reserve left open the possibility of further rate increases after delivering another steep rate increase.

"We are of the belief that the Fed will do whatever it takes to tame inflation," Cyrus Taraporevala, president and CEO of State Street Global Advisors, one of world's largest asset managers managing nearly US$$3.26 trillion, said at the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong on Thursday.


Photo: Sam Tsang alt=Photo: Sam Tsang>

Inflation, geopolitical tensions will cast a shadow on an uncertain global economy next year, say top bankers

Speakers on the first panel at a global investor summit discussed the impact of inflation and geopolitical tensions on the world economy

The era of low global inflation is over for now, said James Gorman, chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley

Inflation and geopolitical tensions are the two main risks hanging over a global economy that is still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising interest rates, according to leading global financiers who spoke at an international financial summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The world will be clouded by "a significant amount of uncertainty" in 2023, but central banks will step in to tame inflation amid the transition from economic expansion to economic contraction, they said.

Read more

Photo: Enoch Yiu. alt=Photo: Enoch Yiu.>

Hong Kong can take the lead to set disclosure example in sustainable financing, bankers say

Each of Hong Kong's 2,500 listed companies must put numbers on potential impact from extreme climate events, according to draft rules due for final approval in 2023

Any fund manager with a portfolio larger than US$1 billion must disclose the emissions data of companies they invest in, starting this month, the SFC says

Hong Kong can take the lead in promoting sustainable finance in the Asia-Pacific, as the city is among the first to incorporate disclosures for environment, social and corporate governance (ESG) in its audit and listing rules, global bankers said.

Each of Hong Kong's 2,500 listed companies must put numbers on potential impact from extreme climate events like severe typhoons and rising sea levels, according to draft rules due for final approval in 2023. Any fund manager with a portfolio larger than US$1 billion must disclose the emissions data of companies they invest in, starting this month, according to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

Read more

Photo: Shutterstock Images alt=Photo: Shutterstock Images>

Cryptocurrencies, blockchain are reshaping future of finance, say global banking chiefs

The biggest challenge for institutions is navigating security issues related to public blockchain networks, says Daniel Pinto, COO of JP Morgan

Senior figures from JPMorgan, BlackRock, HSBC and Standard Chartered shared their thoughts at a global banking summit in Hong Kong

Technologies such as blockchain and central bank digital currencies are reshaping the future of finance, leaders of major banks said during a global financial conference in Hong Kong.

Senior figures from JPMorgan, BlackRock, HSBC and Standard Chartered shared their thoughts on how the fintech industry is shaking up the banking sector during a panel discussion at the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP)

Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hong Kong court upholds veteran journalist's conviction


Hong Kong journalist Choy Yuk-ling, also known as Bao Choy, speaks to media outside a court in Hong Kong on April 22, 2021. Choy on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 lost her appeal against her conviction over making false statements in obtaining information for her investigation of a violent attack during the widespread protests in 2019. 

(AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) 

KANIS LEUNG
Sun, November 6, 2022 


HONG KONG (AP) — An award-winning Hong Kong journalist lost her appeal Monday against her conviction over making false statements in obtaining information for her investigation of a violent attack during widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Bao Choy was found guilty in April 2021 of deceiving the government by getting vehicle ownership records for journalistic purposes after she had declared in her online application that she would use the information for “other traffic and transport related issues.” She was trying to track down perpetrators of a mob attack on protesters and commuters inside a train station for her documentary for public broadcaster RTHK.

That ruling sparked outrage among local media professionals over the city's shrinking press freedoms. Choy — who was fined 6,000 Hong Kong Dollars ($765) for two counts of making false statements — called it “a very dark day for all journalists in Hong Kong."

High Court Justice Alex Lee upheld the verdict in a written judgment, saying there are only three options available in the application form for conducting such searches: transport or traffic-related matters, legal matters, or vehicle purchases or sales. Journalism is not an option.

“I don't deny that the appellant was trying to obtain the information with good intentions. But as the magistrate had pointed out, in terms of conviction, having good intentions is not a justification," Lee said.

Flanked by veteran journalists who held up placards printed with “Fearless, Selfless," Choy said she was disappointed with the judgement.

“It's a decision that really hinders the access to free information in the city, which means that will create obstacles for the press to act as a brake on the abuse of power, and to monitor and hold the powerful accountable,” she said.

The judgement also called into question whether other activities such as some due diligence searches would be considered illegal, she said, and the ruling's implication should be discussed by the wider society.

Choy added she would make a decision on whether to take the case to the Final Court of Appeal within a month.

The story Choy co-produced, titled “7.21 Who Owns the Truth,” won the Chinese-language documentary award at the Human Rights Press Awards in 2021. The judging panel hailed it as “an investigative reporting classic” that had chased “the smallest clues, interrogating the powerful without fear or favor."

In the months after the journalist was convicted, two media outlets — Apple Daily and Stand News — were forced to shut down during an ongoing crackdown on dissents following the 2019 protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China’s rule in 1997 with the promise by Beijing that it would keep the city's freedoms, but critics say that's no longer the case.

Some of the top management of the two outlets also have been prosecuted. Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai faces collusion charges under a sweeping National Security Law enacted in 2020. A trial of two former Stand News editors charged under a colonial-era sedition law that has been used increasingly to snuff out critical voices is underway. One of them, acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam, has been granted bail on Monday after being detained for more than 10 months.

Hong Kong fell more than 60 places to 148th place in Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index released in May.

Trump defended hosting the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament by saying 'We have human rights issues' too. Human rights experts agrees and say Trump himself was responsible for many during his presidency.

Hannah Getahun

Sun, November 6, 2022 

Trump owns 18 golf clubs across the world.Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf via Getty Images

• Former President Donald Trump has been hosting the LIV golf tournament this week.

• Trump justified hosting the Saudi-backed circuit by pointing to the US's human rights record.

• Human rights groups have previously called Trump out for exacerbating human rights violations while president.

Former President Donald Trump said he has no regrets about hosting the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational at his Miami golf club in an interview with The New York Times, and deflected questions about the Saudi-backed tour.

"We have human rights issues in this country too," Trump said on October 30 after reporters asked whether he was concerned about human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.

Trump did not disclose to the Times how much the LIV series has paid him to host the tournament, but said golf was "very important" to the Saudi Arabian government and said, "they're putting a lot of effort into it and a lot of money into it."

"These people have great spirit, they're phenomenal people and they have unlimited money — unlimited," Trump told the Times.

LIV has received criticism for its connections to Saudi Arabia, whose government has invested $2 billion in the tour.

The oil-rich nation has received criticism for its human rights abuses, most notably the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA believes was the responsibility of the Saudi government. The country has also come under fire for its treatment of women and political dissidents.

'We've got a lot of killers'

Sarah B. Snyder, a historian of US foreign relations at American University, told Insider that Trump's comments dismissing the human rights abuses in Riyadh were in line with his previous stances on human rights. Snyder pointed to earlier interviews where Trump brushed off criticisms of Russian President Vladimir Putin by saying, "We've got a lot of killers."

Trump said at the time: "What do you think? Our country's so innocent?"

"The US record on — whether it's human rights abuses, or military interventions overseas, or kind of robust, aggressive defense of US interests, or any country's foreign policy interests — he didn't see that the United States needed to necessarily uphold a different standard," Snyder told Insider.

Snyder continued: "His willingness to support and express admiration for authoritarian governments, whether they're Vladimir Putin in Russia, or royals in Saudi Arabia, that doesn't surprise me."

Human rights groups have acknowledged that the US, like many countries, has its share of human rights issues and violations.

However, multiple, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Center for American Progress, contend that some current issues were exacerbated by Trump-era policies and rhetoric on the border, Muslims, and LGBTQ rights.

Alison Leal Parker, Managing Director for the US Program at Human Rights Watch, told Insider that "the wholesale assault" of fundamental human rights under Trump was "unprecedented."

"Every previous administration, including the current one, including the Biden administration, has been responsible for human rights violations," Parker said. "But the administration of Donald Trump is a real nadir in the history of human rights violations in the United States."

As president, Trump took measures to turn away individuals at the southern border by barring asylum seekers from entering the US and implemented a zero-tolerance policy that resulted in children being separated from their families at the border.

A report from Dec. 2020 found that 1,300 asylum seekers had been assaulted in Mexico since 2019 following Trump's orders to leave asylum seekers at the border.

"Continuing to turn away and expel people seeking US refugee protection at the southern border is both a humanitarian disgrace and a legal travesty," Human Rights First researcher Kennji Kizuka told Insider at the time.

Human Rights Watch published a report in 2019 about journalists at the US-Mexico border being harassed by US officials.

Trump issued a controversial "Muslim travel ban" while in office, which barred nationals from a handful of Muslim-majority countries from entering the country without a green card or citizenship. As president, Trump insisted it was for the sake of national security, but critics have also said that Trump emboldened anti-Muslim sentiments.

Trump has also been criticized for his policies on LGBTQ rights, including his administration's role in arguing for the legalization of job discrimination against LGBTQ individuals, his response to the 2020 protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, and his rhetoric on coronavirus, which he repeatedly linked to Chinese people.

Snyder said that the presidency has historically been more intentional about considering human rights when making foreign policy decisions. The Trump administration deviated from that approach, she said.

"My assessment of his record during the campaign and in the White House would be that he does not think that one of the US government's top priorities should be the protection of human rights," Snyder said. "And there I'm talking about the protection of human rights domestically. I think he's even less concerned with the rights of people residing outside of the United States."

In comparison, Snyder said President Joe Biden has sent "strong signals about human rights" although, she says that "the meaningful exception has been its approach to Saudi Arabia."

Parker shared a similar sentiment, and also said it was partially "ridiculous" to engage with Trump's statements on foreign policy now that Biden was leading the country.

A potential future Trump presidency could foretell 'potentially damaging'  human rights developments

Although Trump has not formally announced a 2024 bid, he could run for president and possibly win once again.

Snyder said that anyone who feels strongly about the protection of human rights should be concerned about what could happen in a potential next Trump presidency.

"Elections rarely turn on foreign policy issues, and certainly, I think rarely turn on questions of protection of human rights," Snyder said. "I don't know that that will be particularly influential in how people make their decisions even if a return to a Trump presidency would foretell many potentially damaging developments for human rights."

A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Meta expected to announce massive layoffs this week that could impact thousand as tech bloodbath continues: WSJ

Bethany Biron
Sun, November 6, 2022

Meta logo.Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Meta is expected to announce layoffs for thousands of employees as soon as Wednesday, WSJ reported.

The company already started downsizing and cutting expenses in recent months.

Meta joins a growing list of tech companies slashing their workforces as a recession nears.

Meta is expected to announce a massive round of layoffs this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The layoffs may impact "many thousands" of staffers and could come as soon as Wednesday, sources told the Journal.

A spokesperson for Meta declined Insider's request to comment, but instead pointed to recent remarks from CEO Mark Zuckerberg from the company's third-quarter earnings call which hinted at upcoming downsizing.

"In 2023, we're going to focus our investments on a small number of high priority growth areas," he said in October. "So that means some teams will grow meaningfully, but most other teams will stay flat or shrink over the next year. In aggregate, we expect to end 2023 as either roughly the same size, or even a slightly smaller organization than we are today."

Meta employees told Insider's Kali Hays last month that managers had started asking for "increased intensity" and warned of the possibility of coming layoffs that could be anywhere from 10% to 20% of the company's workforce.

"Zuck's message was loud and clear: You have three months to prove your worth, put in 200% effort, or you can resign now if you don't like it," one of the workers said.

Meta's stock plummeted by 20% last month after the company reported worse-than-expected earnings, garnering scrutiny for missteps like spending $4 billion on the metaverse in its most recent quarter.

The layoffs come as a growing list of tech companies begin cutting jobs and many employers brace for a looming economic recession.

On Friday, Twitter laid off an estimated 50% of its staff shortly after Elon Musk took over at the helm. Also last week, Stripe cut 14% of its staffers and Lyft fired 700 employees, while GoFundMe nixed 12% of its team in October, among others.

"It's going to be a hard time; at the micro level, it will affect a lot of people's jobs and livelihoods," Mark Peter Davis, managing partner at Interplay Ventures, told Insider's Rob Price and Samantha Stokes.

The fintech layoffs just keep on coming

Mary Ann Azevedo and Kyle Wiggers
Sun, November 6, 2022 at 8:16 AM·7 min read


Welcome to The Interchange!There’s a lot of fintech news out there and it’s my job to stay on top of it — and make sense of it — so you can stay in the know. — Mary Ann

Wow, I take off one week and come back to all hell breaking loose in the fintech world.

Sadly, it felt like we got news of layoff after layoff.

I’ll attempt to round up as many of them as I can here:

Chime confirmed that it is letting go of 12% of its employees. This equals about 160 people. According to an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch, Chime co-founder Chris Britt said that the move was one of many that would help the company thrive “regardless of market conditions.” In the memo, Britt said that he and co-founder Ryan King are recalibrating marketing spend, decreasing the number of contractors, adjusting workspace needs and renegotiating vendor contractors.

Opendoor announced it was letting go of 18% of its staff. This is around 500 people. Opendoor co-founder and CEO Eric Wu said his company, a publicly traded real estate fintech, was navigating “one of the most challenging real estate markets in 40 years.”

Chargebee has laid off about 10% of its staff. As reported by Jagmeet on November 2, “Chargebee, backed by marquee investors including Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India, has laid off about 10% of its staff in a 'reorganization' effort due to ongoing global macroeconomic challenges and growing operational debt. The Chennai and San Francisco–headquartered startup, which offers billing, subscription, revenue and compliance management solutions, confirmed to TechCrunch that the update impacted 142 employees.”

Stripe lays off 14% of its staff. As reported by Paul, “Stripe has announced that it’s laying off 14% of its workers, impacting around 1,120 of the fintech giant’s 8,000 workforce." In a memo published online, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison conveyed a familiar narrative in terms of the reasons behind the latest cutbacks: a major hiring spree spurred by the world’s pandemic-driven surge toward e-commerce, a significant growth period and then an economic downturn ridden with inflation, higher interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges.

Danish startup Pleo may lay off 15% of its workers. Jeppe Rindom, co-founder and CEO of Pleo — which less than one year ago raised $200 million at a $4.7 billion valuation — revealed that the company’s new strategy will impact 15% of its roles. He added that “up to 150 of our colleagues may have to leave.” Pleo is a developer of expense management tools aimed at SMBs to let them issue company cards and better manage how employees spend money.

Credit Karma, now a subsidiary of Intuit, has “decided to pause almost all hiring.” This is according to an internal email sent to employees by chief people officer Colleen McCreary. McCreary referenced “revenue challenges due to the uncertain environment.” This was reiterated in Intuit’s fourth quarter earnings call, during which the company shared on November 1 that “all Credit Karma verticals have been negatively impacted by macro uncertainty. Credit Karma experienced further deterioration in these verticals during the last few weeks of the first quarter.”

Remote online notarization services provider Notarize cuts its team by 60 people. A spokesperson told me via email that “the reorganization impacted nearly all teams and the decision was in service to the larger strategy we have been enacting at Notarize, and will enable us to move faster to best serve our customers.” The spokesperson added that in September, one small real estate–focused team was laid off in response to both its strategy shift and “the drastic drop in demand from the specific customers that they served.” The recent layoffs follow a larger layoff in June that impacted 110 people. Prior to that reduction, Notarize had about 440 employees. It currently employs 250 people across the United States.

I wrote this newsletter on November 3 because I'm leaving on a trip to celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary, so it’s possible that more layoffs took place between then and now. :( What this means for the broader fintech world is not yet clear, but when well-funded companies such as Chime, Stripe and Pleo are cutting staff, it is no doubt sobering for all the players -- small or large -- in the space.

Special thanks to TC senior reporter and very nice guy Kyle Wiggers for helping me draft the Weekly News and Fundings and M&A sections below so I could get offline and pack for my trip!

Weekly News

Jeeves, the fintech startup that recently raised $180 million at a $2.1 billion valuation, told TechCrunch via email that it has launched a service called Jeeves Pay that it's billing as a "credit-backed business payments solution" for enterprise customers. At a high level, Jeeves Pay lets customers use their existing credit line to send wires or pay vendors, ostensibly solving the problem of having to rely on cash or revenues to fund local and cross-border business and vendor payments. Jeeves Pay is available now to all Jeeves customers "where permitted by applicable local laws and regulations," the company says.

Brex sees startups as one of the key avenues to growth in the corporate card and spend management market. To that end, the company on Wednesday announced a partnership with Techstars to extend Brex services to companies within the accelerator, following similar tie-ups with Y Combinator and AngelList. For the duration of the accelerator, Techstars participants will get a Brex platform support team, access to exclusive Brex events and free use of Brex's Pry financial forecasting platform. In an interview with TechCrunch, Brex CEO and co-founder Henrique Dubugras described the move as a customer acquisition play.

At Disrupt, TechCrunch interviewed Brex's Dubugras onstage about the company's recent change in strategy, which involves a stronger emphasis on software and the enterprise. A piece for TC+ breaks out the juicy highlights from the conversation, including why Brex decided to stop serving businesses funded outside the venture capital structure and the implications of the company's layoffs earlier this year.

Also at Disrupt, Ramp CEO Eric Glyman, Airbase CEO Thejo Kote, and Anthemis partner Ruth Foxe Blader participated in a roundtable about competing in the increasingly crowded spend management space -- a space, it's worth noting, that's estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars. Glyman and Kote shared how they’re working to preserve capital, while Blader offered up some of the advice she’s giving to her portfolio companies. Our TC+ recap has the highlights.

How can finance-focused proptech startups survive the downturn? In an exclusive for TC+, we asked three seasoned investors to give their perspectives. One of the major takeaways: The chances of survival are higher for proptech startups that let consumers fractionally invest in properties and increase access for those seeking a rent-to-own approach. Another: Companies that help others navigate tough times seem to be in special demand.

Are landlords and tenants finally ready to ditch paper checks? JPMorgan Chase is betting that they are. The bank this week launched a pilot platform for property owners and managers that automates the invoicing and receipt of online rent payments. The market is enormous -- JPMorgan estimates that more than 100 million Americans pay a combined $500 billion annually in rent to 12 million property owners -- but convincing landlords to move from checks and money orders won't be an easy feat. Only 22% of rent payments are made digitally today, according to JPMorgan.

GREEK/BYZANTINE CATHOLIC RITE

Ukraine church leader: No deal with Russia if they see us as colony


Major Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church Shevchuk conducts a service in Kiev

Mon, November 7, 2022
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The head of Ukraine's Byzantine-rite Catholic Church met Pope Francis on Monday and said there can be no dialogue with Russia as long as Moscow considered the neighbour it invaded a colony to be subjugated.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk's trip to the Vatican was his first trip outside Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February. He said he prefers to remain in Kyiv to be close to the people despite the bombings and hardships.

"The war in Ukraine is a colonial war and peace proposals by Russia are proposals of colonial pacification," he said after meeting the pope at the Vatican.

Shevchuk, who has several times urged the pope to visit Kyiv, gave Francis a piece of shrapnel from a Russian mine that destroyed the facade of a church in Irpin in March. An estimated 200-300 civilians were killed in Irpin, near Kyiv, before the town was taken back from Russian forces in late March.

"These proposals imply the negation of the existence of the Ukrainian people, their history, culture and even their Church. It is the negation of the very right of the Ukrainian state to exist with the sovereignty and territorial integrity that is recognised by the international community," Shevchuk said.

"With these premises, Russia's proposals lack a basis for dialogue," he said.

Kyiv says it will never agree to cede land taken by force, and that lawful referendums cannot be held in occupied territory where many people have been killed or driven out.

After the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces in September in the wake of referendums condemned by Ukraine and the West as a coercive sham, Kyiv said it was applying to join NATO, and would not negotiate with Russia as long as Vladimir Putin is Russia's president.

Last month, Pope Francis for the first time directly begged Putin to stop the "spiral of violence and death" in Ukraine and asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be open to any "serious peace proposal".

Russian forces swept into Ukraine in what Moscow calls a "special military operation" to eliminate dangerous nationalists and protect Russian-speakers. Kyiv calls Moscow's military action an unprovoked imperialist land grab.

Ukraine is predominantly Christian Orthodox but about 10% of the population belongs to the Eastern, or Byzantine-rite, Catholic Church, whose followers are in communion with Rome.

The support of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion.

The war has also prompted some Orthodox believers in Ukraine to abandon their allegiance to the ROC and join the country's own branch of the Orthodox Church, which Moscow refuses to recognise.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Mark Heinrich)